Liverpool must feel a Champions League quarter-final place is within their grasp when they travel to face a Bayer Leverkusen side in poor form and missing five first-team regulars.
After losing the opening leg of the first knockout round tie at Anfield 3-1, Leverkusen have managed just a point from two league games and lie seventh in the Bundesliga, 11 points behind the leaders.
The Germans will be missing injured defenders Jens Nowotny, Roque Junior and Juan on Wednesday, as well as midfielders Paul Freier and Robson Ponte through suspension.
Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez is certainly confident about his side's chances, not only of reaching the quarter-finals but even of adding a fifth European crown to the club's trophy room.
"Last season there was not one person who spoke about Porto and Monaco reaching the Champions League final when we got to this stage," Benitez said.
"It was all about Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Milan, Manchester United and Arsenal. But in the end it was Porto who were champions, so why not Liverpool?
"If we defend well against Leverkusen, we will go through."
Liverpool also have selection problems but Czech striker Milan Baros should relish the chance to get at a severely depleted defence and the English side will be boosted by the return from suspension of captain Steven Gerrard.
Gerrard and Dietmar Hamann, who scored against his compatriots at Anfield, will be a vital first line of defence after Leverkusen were given several chances to score at Anfield.
NO MORIENTES
The pressure will also be on Polish keeper Jerzy Dudek to make amends for the blunder which allowed Franca to score in stoppage time and keep Leverkusen's hopes alive.
Liverpool also have problems up front. Djibril Cisse, Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Neil Mellor are all out with season-ending injuries and Fernando Morientes is cup-tied after his move from Real Madrid.
The German side will pin their hopes on their excellent home form in the group phase, when they scored three goals against Real Madrid, Roma and Dynamo Kiev.
They should also glean confidence from memories of the 4-2 win over Liverpool in the second leg of the 2002 quarter-finals, a result that took them through to the last four at the English side's expense.
Coach Klaus Augenthaler admits Leverkusen's form in their 1-0 defeat by Hamburg SV on Saturday was not up to scratch, but believes they can rescue the tie.
"Liverpool are not exactly tearing down trees at the moment either," he said. "If we get a goal in the first half it's possible. We are good enough."
With so many absences in defence and midfield, Augenthaler will need forwards Dimitar Berbatov and Andriy Voronin to play much better than at Anfield, when they squandered a series of chances.
Probable teams
Bayer Leverkusen: 1-Hans-Joerg Butt; 29-Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker, 28-Carsten Ramelow, 35-Diego Placente; 27-Gonzalo Castro, 25-Bernd Schneider, 13-Daniel Bierofka, 23-Landon Donovan, 16-Jacek Krzynowek; 9-Dimitar Berbatov, 12-Andriy Voronin
Liverpool: 1-Jerzy Dudek; 3-Steve Finnan, 4-Sami Hyypia, 23-Jamie Carragher, 28-Stephen Warnock; 6-John Arne Riise, 8-Steven Gerrard, 16-Dietmar Hamann, 10-Luis Garcia; 7-Harry Kewell; 5-Milan Baros
Referee: Alain Sars (France)
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